Paterno Cleared in Penn State Sex Scandal

Looks like legendary football coach Joe Paterno is off the hook in Penn State’s sex abuse scandal, but other officials aren’t nearly so lucky. Pennsylvania Attorney General Linda Kelly told reporters today that two school administrators who resigned today "allowed a child predator to continue to victimize children for many, many years.” Paterno, however, fulfilled his legal obligation by relaying a story to superiors about former defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky fondling a boy in the locker room shower, the New York Times reports.

Paterno still worked with Sandusky for years—enough to prompt one sports columnist to say that "Paterno needs to do the honorable thing and resign before he coaches another game." But even more alarming is Sandusky's admission in 1998 about inappropriate contact in the school showers: During a Penn State investigation into Sandusky's behavior, he “made admissions about inappropriate contact in the shower room," says a former state AG official. “Nothing happened. Nothing stopped.” Sandusky now faces 40 charges of sexually abusing underage boys, and maintains his innocence. (More Penn State stories.)